Starr v. Minister & Trustees of Starr Methodist Protestant Church in Baltimore City

• Citation: 76 A. 595,112 Md. 171
• Parties: STARR v. MINISTER AND TRUSTEES OF STARR METHODIST PROTESTANT CHURCH IN BALTIMORE CITY.
• Decision Date: 12 January 1910
• Court: Court of Appeals of Maryland

76 A. 595

112 Md. 171

STARR v. MINISTER AND TRUSTEES OF STARR METHODIST PROTESTANT CHURCH IN BALTIMORE CITY.

Court of Appeals of Maryland

January 12, 1910

Appeal from Circuit Court of Baltimore City; Chas. H. Henisler Judge.

Suit by the Minister and Trustees of the Starr Methodist Protestant Church in Baltimore City against Caroline L. Starr and others. Decree for complainant, and defendant Caroline L Starr appeals. Affirmed.

Argued before BOYD, C.J., and BRISCOE, PEARCE, SCHMUCKER, BURKE, and THOMAS, JJ.

Fred. W. Story and C. D. Barnitz, for appellant.

Alonzo L. Miles, and Bernard Carter, for appellees.,

THOMAS J.

In 1864 Wesley Starr and Phillipa Starr, his wife, of Baltimore City leased and demised to the Starr Methodist Protestant Church in Baltimore City a lot of ground, with the improvements thereon, on the corner of Poppleton and Lemon streets, in said city, for the term of 99 years, renewable forever subject to the payment of the yearly rent of $240, and the following provision: "Provided, however, that these presents are on these express and unalterable conditions, and that the above-described lot of ground, with the house of worship erected and in process of completion thereon, shall be held by the said lessees, their successors and assigns, for the use of the congregation that shall from time to time worship in the said house or church in connection with the annual Conference of the Maryland District of the Methodist Protestant Church; so, however and under all circumstances, that the seats in the said church shall be and remain forever free; that the congregation in occupying the said church or any church edifice hereafter to stand on said ground shall observe the old Methodist usage of a separation of the sexes in seating; that in public worship the singing shall be conducted in the old-fashioned way of lining the hymns; that there shall be no organ or other kind of musical instrument employed or used during divine worship in connection with the singing in said church; the trustees to have no power to raise money for completing the church, nor for any other purpose, by mortgage of the property and premises, or to incur any debt for such or any other purpose, to bind the property or thereby subject the same to a sale and removal of the restrictions herein provided for. That the church, in addition, is always to remain under the stationing authority of the said conference, and is to receive such minister or ministers, from time to time, as shall be duly appointed to or for it, pursuant to the Constitution and Discipline of the Methodist Protestant Church, so as to perpetuate an efficient itinerancy, without power or authority to assume an independent relation to said Annual Conference." The lease further provided for a re-entry and termination of the lease by the lessor, his heirs and assigns, upon the breach or nonperformance by the lessees or their assigns of any of the covenants or conditions in the lease.

On the day preceding the execution of the lease--that is to say, on the 17th day of May, 1864--the lessee, the Minister and Trustees of the Starr Methodist Protestant Church in Baltimore City, was duly incorporated under the general corporation laws of the state, relating to religious corporations, and article 10 of its charter is as follows: "The property and premises at the southwest corner of Poppleton and Lemon streets, in the city of Baltimore, about to be demised to this corporation by Wesley Starr and wife, shall be held by said trustees for the use of the congregation that shall from time to time worship in the house or church erected on said lot of ground, in connection with the Annual Conference of the Maryland District of the Methodist Protestant Church, so however and under all circumstances that the seats in the said church shall be and remain forever free; that the congregation, in occupying the said church or any church edifice hereafter to stand on said ground, shall observe the old Methodist usage of a separation of the sexes in seating; that in public worship the singing shall be conducted in the old-fashioned way of lining the hymns; that there shall be no organ or other kind of musical instrument employed or used during divine worship in connection with the singing in said church. The trustees to have no power to raise money for completing the church, nor for any other purpose by mortgage of the property and premises, or to incur any debt for such or any other purpose to hind the property or thereby subject the same to a sale and removal of the restriction herein provided for; that the church, in addition, is always to remain under the stationing authority of the said conference, and is to receive such minister or ministers from time to time as shall be duly appointed to or for it pursuant to the Constitution and Discipline of the Methodist Protestant Church, so as to perpetuate an efficient itinerancy, without power or authority to assume an independent relation to said Annual Conference."

In 1866 Mr. Starr died leaving a will, by the second paragraph of which he gives to his daughter-in-law, Mrs. Laura Starr, for "such time only as she shall remain the widow of Wm. M. Starr, deceased," the yearly rent reserved in the said lease to the Starr Methodist Protestant Church, and the third paragraph contains the following provision: "I give and devise, at my death, unto the Minister and Trustees of the Starr Methodist Protestant Church in Baltimore City, as a kind of endowment, the rents, profits and yearly income of the wharf opposite the lot on Light street, in said city, purchased by me on the 1st day of January, 1842, of John H. B. Latrobe, trustee and others; and at the death or marriage of my daughter-in-law, Mrs. Laura Starr, whichever shall first occur, the yearly rent of two hundred and forty dollars reserved in the said lease from me to them of May last; to be held and enjoyed by the said church, for and during all such time as may elapse before the corporate authorities, official members or membership of the said church, shall admit any musical instrument, as distinguished from the human voice, into the sabbath school singing choir, or choir rehearsals, or singing schools of said church, held either on the church premises or elsewhere, or shall attempt--I trust they never will to raise money, by the holding now somewhat fashionable --either in the church, or sabbath school room or elsewhere, of any fair, festival or concert of instrumental music; or by the delivery of any irreligious or political lecture, or the still more demoralizing and sinful mode, should the churches ever so far degenerate as to adopt it, of balls, parties, lotteries, theatrical performances, raffles, or the voting for distinguished individuals; when, and upon the happening of any one of these contingencies, the said wharf property and ground rent shall fall into the residuum of my estate, and be subject to the disposal hereafter made thereof, and I give and release unto said church all ground rent in arrear under my lease to them, and the accruing rent, computed to the day of my decease." The fourth paragraph of the will disposes of "all the rest and residue" of the testator's estate, and by a codicil to his will he revokes the device of said ground rent to his daughter-in-law, and declares: "It is my will that the said yearly rent shall vest at once on my decease in the Minister and Trustees of the Starr Methodist Protestant Church in Baltimore City, instead of at the death or marriage of Mrs. Laura Starr, as provided for in the third article of my will, the tenure of the property or conditions of the gift to remain unchanged as prescribed in the will."

The suit in this case was brought by the Ministers and Trustees of the Starr Methodist Protestant Church in Baltimore City, the body corporate, against the heirs at law of Mr. Starr, and the bill of complaint, after alleging the execution of the lease, and the death of Mr. Starr leaving the last will and testament and codicil to which we have referred, charges that the plaintiff by said will acquired a fee-simple title in said property, "subject to such restrictions as may be found in said will," and further alleges that the plaintiff, during the 42 years since the death of Mr. Starr, has remained in possession of the property, conducting it as a place of public worship, under the auspices of the Maryland Annual Conference of the Methodist Protestant Church, and has not been disturbed in its possession and use of the same; that during the lifetime of Mr. Starr, and at the time said lease and will were executed, "the location of said property when said Church was being built," at the time of Mr. Starr's death, "was a residential section of Southwest Baltimore, where it was proper that a church should be erected; that, during the time which has elapsed since" his death, "the particular locality *** has become a manufacturing center, and the changes as to the condition of the property and the circumstances attending it and its surroundings render it impossible for" the plaintiff "to longer hold the property and carry out the intent of the testator"; and that "it is absolutely necessary, and would be for the benefit" of the plaintiff "and of all the parties interested therein, that the property be sold and the proceeds invested in the purchase of another site and the erection of a church thereon, so that the will of the testator may be enforced." The prayer of the bill is for a decree authorizing a sale of the property and appointing a trustee to make the sale and to invest the proceeds under the order of the court, and for general relief.

Four of the defendants, who allege that "they have an interest in the residuum of the estate" of the testator,...